Automatic ventilating apparatus.



PATENTED MAY 22, 1906.

J. H. HUMMEL. AUTOMATIC VENTILATING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATI'ON FILED APR. 6, 1905.

, constituting a feature of the apparatus. Fig.

' "with an electrically-operated latch 11. There automatically-operatedventilating appara IhUTUWtATlC WE Specification of Letters Iatent.

hvuariwe asi alsarue.

Patented May 22, 1906.

Application filed April 6, 1905. Serial No. 254,116..

To all! whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES H. l-IUMMEL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Mount Vernon, in the county of Westchester and Stateof New York, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Ventilating Aparatus, of which the'following is a full, car, and exact description.

This invention relates to ventilation, and concerns itself especiallywith apparatus in tended to be used in theaters and similar places.

The object of the invention is to provide tus which is simple andreliable in operation.

A special purpose has been to provide means for preventin the body ofthe theater from filling with smo e in case ofa fire oh the stage-101 inthe wings. Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, formingapart of this specification, in which similar characters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the figures. In the drawings, Figure1, which is largely diagrammatic, represents a stage in plan providedwith my apparatus, a certain part of the ap aratus being shown insection. Fig. 2 is a ont elevation of a fanhouse or box 3 is asubstantially vertical section throu h a thermostat which constitutes afeature 0 the invention. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a portionof the thermostat and illustrating its mode'of operation, and Fi 5 is asection taken substantially upon the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Referring moreparticularly to the parts, 1 represents n plan a stage of a theaterwhich would be out 01f from the body of the theater; by means of amovable curtain 2 of the usual form, In a plying my invention I providenear one we of the theater a fan box or case 3 within which there ismounted an exhaust fan 4, the same being driven by an electricmotor 5,as indicated, through the medium of a belt 6. The inner wall of thebox-3 would be formed of two'swinging doors 7, hinged at 8, asindicated, and meeting on a central vertical line 9, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 2. Preferably on their inner side these doors arenormally held closed by suitable springs 10, as shown, and the doors arefurther provided is also provided at a suitable point, preferably on theusual switchboard, an electricallyoperated switch 12. This switch 12comprises four cohtacts 13, 14, 15, and 16, ar-

ranged as shown, Between the contacts 15 and 16 a switch -member 17 ispivotally mounted at 16, so that the said switch Inember may constitutea bridge connecting these two contacts in a well-known manner. Betweenthe contacts 13 and 14 a solenoid-core 18 is arranged, and to the lowerextremity of this core is attached a transverse member or bar 19, whichmay operate to bridge the contacts 13 and 14in a manner which willappear more fully hereinafter. At a suitable point, preferablynn thesame switchboard, I arrange an electrically-controlled variableresistanceZO. There is also provided a main switch 21 and a battery 22.V

-At suitable pointsabove the stage or in the wings of the same I providea plurality of thermostats .23. These are preferably four or more innumber, as shown, and may be located as indicated.

From the contacts 24 and 25, which may be bridged by the double switch21, so as to connect the contacts electrically with the battery 22,wires 26 and 27 pass. The Wire 26 passes through theelectrically-controlled resistance 20,.beyond which it passes to themotor 5, as shown. A second wire or conductor 28 leads from the motor 5to the contact 1 1 aforesaid. The conductor 27 leads to the contact 1 3,which contact is connected with the contact 15 through a conductor 29.Be yond the contact 15 a conductor 30 leads to the electrically-operatedlatch 11, passing through the coil of'a solenoid 1 1 at this point.

--Beyond the latch 11 a conductor 31 leads to the contact-point 16, andthis contactoint is connected with the coil of a solenoi 12", of whichsolenoid the aforesaid member 18 constitutes the core. Beyond the coilof the solenoid 12' a conductor 32 leads ed to a leg 33 of the circuit,which is disposed in a suitable manner above the stage, preferably nearthe ceiling, as Will be readily understood.

From the conductor 26 a branch 26 leads,

which branch terminates in a leg 34 ofthe circuit, which leg is arrangedin substantial parallelism with the leg 33, referred to above. The legs33 and 34. are connected by thermostat-conductors 35, arranged inparallel, as shown.

The construction of the thermostats 23 is very clearly shown in Figs. 3to 5. ofsimple construction, comprising a plate 36, of slate or similarmaterial, constituting a base for the body 37, formed, preferably, of aplate of copper depending therebelow, as

They are shown. The said copper plate presents a horizontal extension 38at its lower edge, which affords means for supporting a brass tube 39,which projects vertically downward from the wall 38, as indicated, theupper extremity of the said tube being secured in posi .tion in anysuitable manner. as by the nuts 10. The lower extremity of the tube isclosed by a head 11, preferably of brass or copper, and this head, asshown in Fig. 4, is provided with an opening 42. In tlns opening thereis seated a plug 43, having a body. 44 of reduced. diameter with respectto the opening 42, and this plug is secured in position by a quantity ofsoft solder or similar material 45,'which is placed around the body ofthe same inthe opening 42. The plug 43 is secured upon a stem 46 in anysuitable manner, as shown. The said stem projects upwardly, asindicated, and is attached at its upper extremity to a switch member 47.This switch member 47- is pivoted at 48 .to a metallic member, such as abinding-post49, and a similar metallic member 50 is placed opposite thehead 51 of the switch member, as shown.

A section 35 of the thermostat-wire is attached to the'binding-post 49and the section 35* opposite attached to the opposite binding-post 50.The extremity of the switch member 47 is normally impelled to moveupwardly by a spring 52, attached as shown. From this arrangement itshould be readily understood that if the plug 43 should becomediscomiected the spring 52 will operate to draw the switch member 17upwardly and bring its head 51 in contact with the extension of thebinding-post 50 in such a manner asto close the circuit through thethermostatwires 35.

In order to prevent the stem 46 or the tub 39 from being struck, Iprovide a guardframe which is formed of vertically-disposed rods 54,disposed as shown in Fig. 5, and these support at their lowerextremities a circular guard-plate The mode of operation. of theapparatus Will now be d escri bed.

hen the switch 21 is closed, no effects are produced in the circuit, asit will be observed that the circuit remains open at the thermostats Incase of a fire a rise of temperature above the stage to a predeter--through the'branch conductor 26 the leg 341, the fused thermostat 23,and the leg 33. From the leg 33 the circuit would pass through theconductor 32, energizing the coil of the solenoid 12 of the electricswitch 12. From the coil the circuit would pass through the bridgemember 17, connection 29, and conductor 27 back to the battery. hen thecoil of the solenoid 12 is energized, it will be drawn upwardly, and anextension from the upper extremity of the core 18 thereof will strikeagainst the bridge member 17, so as to force the same upwardly intosubstantially the positioninwhich it is shown in dotted outline inFig. 1. Displacing the bridge member 17 in this manner operates to throwthe electrically-operatedlatch 11 into. the circuit, the circuit nowbeing established as follows: through the conductor 31, through thelatch 11, through the conductor 30, the

contact 15, connection 2.), conductor 27 As the movement of'the core 18continues the bridge-bar 19 short-circuits the contacts 13 and 1 1. Indoing so a circuit is established through theconductor 26-, theelectricallycontrolled rheostat 20, and the motor 5, the circuit passingfrom the motor through the conductor 28 to the contact 14, bridge'bar19, and conductor 27. In this way a circuit is firs tv establishedthrough the latch 1 1, which releases the swinging door 7, and a circuitis also established through the motor. Closing the circuit through thelatch operates, of course, to release it so as to permit the doors toswing open. The motor 5 and the fan 4 being new set in motion, the fanoperates to produce a partial vacuum in the interior of the box 3, andthe air-pressure on the faces of the doors 7 operates to swing the sameinwardly into some such position as that in which they are shown indotted lines in Fig. 1. The smoke which accumulates abov the stage fromthe fire would be drawn out by the fan and discharged into the outer airdirectly or else through a suitable flue, if found desirable.

The apparatus described constitutes a simple automatic means forremoving the smoke from a burning building and is thought to beespecially beneficial when used in the connection suggested. As iswell'knmvu, much ofthe confusion and panic that often results in theaterfires is occasioned by the passing of the smoke into the bod y of thetheater, which, even in small quai'itities, tends to alarm the audienceand in great quantities may produce sutl'ocation. With this apparatus inoperation if the curtain is run down, the body tor therefor, automatically operateld circuittion, an electrically-controlled latch norclosersfor the motor-circuit, and a box for mally locking said doors in saidclosed posisaid fan having outwardly-swinging doors tion, a plurality ofthermostats and a circuit r5 normally closed and arranged to be openedincluding said thermostats, said motor and 5 automatically by the airmovement created said latch.

by said fan. a In testimony whereof I have signed my 2. In apparatus ofthe class described in name to thisspecification in the presence of lcombination, an exhaust-fan having an electwo subscribing Witnesses.

",tric motor, a box for the same having doors a I JAMES H. HUMMEL. 16%adapted to swing in the direction of the air- Witnesses:

current created by said fan, means normally F. D. AMMEN,

tending to hold said doors in a closed posi- J NO. M. BITTER.

